We already know ethanol bio-fuels can be made from sugar cane, grain and other crops. And now we know, thanks to some researchers at Imperial College London, that they can be made by fermenting different types of paper and cardboard. Initial experiments have shown that paper made bio-fuel projects are both chemically and economically viable. Currently about 1.5 billion cards and 83 square kilometers of wrapping paper are discarded by UK residents during the Christmas period. According to the researchers, this amount of waste paper if fermented could produce 5-12 million liters of bio-fuel, enough to run a bus for up to 18 million km. "If one card is assumed to weigh 20g and one square meter of wrapping paper is 10g," says Dr Richard Murphy from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, "then around 38,300 tonnes of extra paper waste will be generated at Christmas time. Our research shows that it would be feasible to build waste paper-to-biofuel processing plants that give energy back as transport fuel."

 

Each year, arms worth about US$ 60 billion are sold globally. Some of these arms go to regimes where human rights violations are known to occur. Developing countries are the largest consumers, buying about three fourths of the arms. According to an estimate, 85% of the arms sold between 2002 and 2009, came from US, Russia, France, United Kingdom, China, Germany and Italy.

In some cases arms sales are not reported by the importers to the United Nations and in most cases corruption accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved. In some countries of Sub-Saharan Africa weapons are reportedly being supplied to rebels.

World military spending is astronomically high - more than US$1.5 trillion. The highest spender is the US, accounting for more than the total amount spent by G7 countries.

Population growth, rapid urbanization, increasing numbers of low-emission zones and restricted access to inner city centers are some of the major factors that auto-makers are taking into account for drawing up future strategies. KPMG 12th Annual Auto Survey report reveals that there is a growing consumer need for purpose-built vehicles in Europe and North America, and for safe, lower-cost cars in emerging markets like China.

According to the Report, "In the race to lead in technology innovation in alternative fuels and powertrain technologies, 68 percent of major players are opting to enter into strategic alliances or joint ventures with suppliers rather than seek capital and go it alone. This view is shared mainly among global players in the EMEA and America's region; those in Asia Pacific are most likely to secure loans to fund these investments."